Rat a tat cat
by mascaret
Summary: Marauder's era. Remus is feeling down. His marauding friends do what they can to cheer him up, which isn't much.


Rat-a-tat Cat

A/N Thank you Maria for taking the time to beta this.

Warning: You may not like some of my characterizations. That's perfectly fine with me. Flame away. I can live with it, but quite honestly from the few glimpses we have gleaned of the Marauder's years at Hogwarts I see no evidence that these characters are necessarily acting out of character. 

Stands alone, but people who have read my other works should be able to make the connections quickly enough.

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Remus was sitting under a tree by the lake. He wanted to be left alone, but James and Sirius wouldn't hear of it. Peter…Peter just went along with whatever they did.

Sirius plopped down on the ground next to him. "Try not to look so glum, Moony."

James threw a pebble into the lake. "It's a full moon, not the end of the world."

Easy for them to say. They weren't the ones who were cursed, eternally damned. They weren't the ones who could never have children. They weren't the ones who went through a horrifically painful transformation every month. They weren't the ones who would be too tired and too sore to attend classes tomorrow.

Actually, the 'too tired' bit wasn't exactly true. For the past few months, since the other three had perfected their animagus transformations, every full moon they stayed up all night with him. He really should be more grateful to have friends like that. Most people's response to figuring out their roommate was a werewolf would not be to spend the better part of a year working to become an illegal underage animagus so they could keep him company during his transformations.

Still, sometimes he suspected James and Sirius' reasons for putting in all that effort had less to do with their deep and abiding friendship for him and more to do with their love of breaking rules.

James seemed to be picking up on his maudlin mood. "Wormtail, what do you say? I think we could use a little entertainment and you can certainly use the practice for tonight."

After a quick check to make sure the grounds were deserted, the ever obedient Peter complied. With a slight pop, 'Wormtail' disappeared and a small gray rat appeared.

Sirius and James laughed watching the 'rat' jump and dance around. Remus just found it even more depressing. Once the initial excitement of feeling accepted for who he was and not totally alone anymore had worn off, Remus had started to feel even more alone watching the others transform.

To the three of them it was something fun to do. As James said, it was entertainment. They could change on a whim, and often did. Remus only changed once a month and he had absolutely no control over it. The transformation he went through every month was horribly painful. From what they had told him, their transformation was nothing like that. Theirs was mildly painful. When Remus had asked, Sirius had described it as 'trying to squeeze through a space you had no business being in'. Not that Remus would ever need to know that. Werewolves couldn't be Animagi. It wasn't a restriction based on a law passed by the Wizengamot, though there were plenty of those. It was just physically impossibility for them. For him. A werewolf was a werewolf and _only_ a werewolf.

Every time he watched one of the others _choose_ to transform, that thought was driven home to him. He was a werewolf. There was no cure. He always would be a werewolf. And that was all he would ever be.

Remus looked up, distracted by Sirius' whistling. Their Muggle Studies Professor had taught them how to make that whistle. Professor Janus said it was a compliment to be used when a pretty girl walked by. Sirius had only signed up for Muggle Studies to annoy his mother, but he really seemed to like it.

Remus blushed when he saw who the pretty 'girl' that Sirius was trying to complement was. Professor McGonagall, the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, was coming across the grounds. She was wearing a muggle dress and walking back from the edge of the Apparation barrier. The rumor going round the school was that she kept a muggle lover somewhere in Stirling.

It might be true, but given that last year speculation was about her and Headmaster Dippet, Remus wasn't willing to bet on it. Sirius, on the other hand was. He had started a small betting pool amongst the other Fifth years revolving around who their Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher was sleeping with.

Remus wouldn't be at all surprised to discover she was sleeping with someone. McGonagall had more than a bit of a temper, but she was as clever as they came and quite lovely to look at. In fact, he very much liked to look at her. She had hexed him in class once for looking at her a little too long. He just wasn't interested in speculating about with whom she was sleeping.

Professor McGonagall wasn't the only one that had noticed him looking at her too long in class. Sirius poked him in the ribs. "Quick Moony, ask her out before she gets away."

Remus frowned. "Knock it off. If you're so bloody interested why don't you ask her out?" He realized his error immediately, but it was already too late.

James grinned. "I don't know, Padfoot, but I think that sounded almost like a dare."

"Right you are, Prongs, and you know how I feel about dares." Sirius began waving his arms wildly like the git that he was. "PROFESSOR MCGONAGALL! PROFESSOR MCGONAGALL! I NEED TO TALK TO YOU, PROFESSOR MCGONAGALL!"

The hex happy dark haired witch was already fingering her wand as she turned in their direction. Remus wondered if they would all be sporting boils soon or just Sirius.

"Mr. Black, I am not your house elf. If you should like to speak to me in the future I suggest you come to me."

Remus blushed at the cheek of Sirius' reply. "Professor, in the future I should very much like to come to you."

"Twenty points from Gryffindor. Would you like a detention to go with it?"

Sirius batted his eyes flirtatiously. "Only if you promise to wear this same charming ensemble."

Remus groaned and closed his eyes. Beyond showing some ankle, Professor McGonagall's muggle dress wasn't much different than her usual robes. Sirius was really pushing it today.

McGonagall had been dealing with Sirius and his ilk for years. She didn't seem at all phased. "I think not, Mr. Black. But perhaps _you _would be interested in wearing it while you serve your detentions with Mr. Filch all this week."

Sirius could have just stayed quiet, taken one week's worth of detention, and been done with it, but James was clearly getting a charge out of this exchange. Never one to disappoint a friend, Sirius kept it up. "Fine, but I haven't any plans for next week. How is your schedule looking; any time for me then?"

Peter had been hidden out of sight in the grass, but now he appeared to want to join in. Professor McGonagall started to reply to Sirius, but became distracted when Peter the rat approached her.

"I haven't any time for you, Mr. Black, but there is a girl's lavatory on the first floor that keeps flooding. I'm sure the attentions of you and your toothbrush would be most apprec-"

Horrified, Remus watched Peter try to look up McGonagall's dress. Sirius and James couldn't keep in their laughter. McGonagall nudged Peter with the tip of her shoe. "I cannot recall seeing this mouse before. Who's familiar is this?"

Near hysteric with laughter from watching Peter the rat shake a paw in mock fury as McGonagall continued to shoo him away, Sirius managed to gasp out an answer. "No…one's…he's just a pest…that follows us around…came from the forest I think."

Still prodding Peter with her shoe, McGonagall seemed to find Sirius' answer of great interest. One of her hands began to gently caress her throat and a faint blush suffused her cheeks. Remus watched her tongue move out to delicately moisten her lips before she again spoke. Oddly enough she seemed to have forgotten all about Sirius' detentions. "You are certain he does _not_ belong to one of the students?"

James was shaking with laughter. "No. If you want him, you can take him. I'm sure you could put him to great use. Even train him to sleep in bed with you at night."

"Well…if you are sure he doesn't belong to one of the other students…" McGonagall wasn't taking her eyes off of Peter. "I tend to agree, I _could _put him to great use."

Through his fit, Sirius managed to choke out a reply. "No, not _a student's_."

"Mmm…" McGonagall looked very contemplative with her moist lips parted ever so slightly. But in the end, she walked away, leaving behind a very disappointed rat.

"Oh, that's no fun." James sighed, still doubled over from his laughter. "We tried for you, mate. Wormtail, you can't ever say we didn't try for you."

"Bet you would have liked to curl up on those pillows." Remus look at Sirius in disgust.

Remus knew he should have said something, tried to stop the other boys. Hadn't Dumbledore made him prefect to try to exert a little bit of restraint over the others? Rein them in a bit. He remembered Dumbledore saying something or other about taking just as much if not more bravery to stand up to our friends, than our enemies. McGonagall had given him similar, but more direct advice; Remus, get better friends. 

Sometimes, the way those two acted, he was ashamed to even know them, never mind be friends with them.

Remus looked away, not wanting to even set eyes on Sirius or James anymore. Peter was still sitting on the grass, pouting. From the corner of his vision, Remus just noticed the gray and black tabby creeping closer. He tried to say something to Peter, but his warning seemed to make the cat speed up.

"Wormtail, company. You better turn ba-"

As the cat pounced on Peter and began to drag him off, James sat up interested . "Nice."

"Ooh, stealth attack. Very nice." agreed Sirius.

Peter squirmed, trying to get away, but the cat seemed to have a very firm grasp of him. It didn't look like Peter was going to be able to get himself free, at least not in that form. Curiously enough, after carrying him a small distance from their little group, the cat choose to set Peter free.

There was something…different about this cat. 

Peter started the run back to them. The cat let him get about halfway before finally making a move to catch up with him. The cat batted Peter back and forth between its front paws. 

Sirius sighed. "Wish we had popcorn."

Peter looked absolutely terrified as the cat continued toying with him. The cat began using one paw to pin Peter's tail to the ground while leisurely cleaning the other paw with its tongue. Peter's little rat feet had contact with the ground and traction, but no matter how fast or which direction he ran, he couldn't get too far ahead of his tail.

Remus thought that the cat looked familiar. "Isn't that McGonagall's cat? The one always watching us once she is done hexing us and leaves the classroom?"

When students came to her classes having failed to complete their essays and assigned readings, or talked while she was talking, their DADA professor was in the habit of losing her temper and hexing the whole class. She then left them to their own devices to find the counter curse or counter curses as a 'practical lesson'. Unless of course someone managed to really tick her off. Then she would cast something irreversible and they would have to wait for it to eventually wear off.

James took a good look at the cat. "Right you are, Moony."

Sirius grinned. "I can't wait to see McGonagall's cat run when Peter changes back."

It looked like they were about to see just that. This wasn't the first time something like this had happened. There were lots of cats around the school and Peter had played this game before with other cats, but he had never taken it this far before. He was going to have to change back soon; the cat had finished cleaning itself and begun nipping at him.

When the cat bit a piece off of Peter the rat's tail and all Peter did was make panicked squeaks, Remus began to suspect something wasn't right. "I don't think he's playing anymore. I don't think he _can_ change back!"

Sirius looked only mildly interested. "Yeah, he still has trouble with that sometimes, particularly when he is excited. I suppose _one of us _should do something."

James put one hand behind his back. "Odds or evens?"

Sirius called out, "Odds!"

McGonagall's cat kept Peter pinned to the ground while it chewed on the morsel it already had.

"You _always _take odds. I want odds."

"Prongs, if you wanted odds what did you ask for?"

"Well, Padfoot, I was trying to be nice!"

"Nice guys finish last. Nice guys get evens."

James frowned. "Rock, paper, scissors?"

Neither seemed to notice or care that McGonagall's cat was trying to take another chunk out of Peter the rat.

"One. Two. Three!"

James leaned back against the tree. "Paper beats rock. Sorry, old chap, you're up."

McGonagall's cat was otherwise occupied and failed to notice Sirius' transfiguration. Sirius the dog walked right up to it before starting to bark.

Sirius was hardly inexperienced at tormenting cats. On more than one occasion he had chased the cat of a female classmate into a tree so that after he transformed back he could impress the girl by 'rescuing' her cat. He tried to get McGonagall's cat away from Peter by treeing it, but the cat stood its ground. The cat arched its back and began making the most god awful hissing noises to get _him _to back down.

No, there was definitely something not quite right about McGonagall's cat. When Sirius took a few steps closer, rather than retreating the cat launched itself at Sirius. Sirius yelped like a lost little puppy as the cat repeatedly slashed him.

James seemed to be really enjoying the show. "This is good stuff. That cat is just as nasty as McGonagall!"

Peter tried to make his escape, but Sirius apparently wasn't distraction enough. The cat moved past the retreating form of Sirius to recapture the rat in its jaws. Carrying Peter the rat by the neck, the cat headed towards a row of trees.

James stood with a sigh. "This could get ugly."

As a stag, James was able to hold the cat's attention a little better. He caught up with it when it was part way up one of the trees, Peter still dangling from its mouth. Sliding his antlers under it, he tossed the cat backwards through the air. The cat did not manage to land on its feet. It landed on its side with a slight thud, however it quickly got back on its feet. Releasing Peter, it charged James.

The cat clawed its way up James, climbing his leg as if he were a tree. James was right; that cat was nasty. It was in an absolute rage, tearing up James' back with its claws as it made its way to higher ground. It settled on James' head and started attacking his ears.

James tossed his head from side to side, trying to shake the cat off, but the cat dug its claws in deeper, refusing to be disposed of.

An incredibly traumatized rat was just laying in the grass trembling, but the dog was getting back into the fray. Sirius jumped up and grabbed the cat's tail with his teeth. Both fell to the ground.

Before the cat could retaliate, Remus dropped his cloak and robes on top of it. James and Sirius were just standing there, staring at the writhing heap of clothes, waiting for the cat to work its way out. Picking Peter up off the grass, Remus yelled at them. "Run you idiots!"

The green houses were the closest shelter. Before entering, James and Sirius changed back to human form and helped Peter to do the same. James and Sirius with their torn clothes and shredded faces looked by far the worst. Peter had come out fairly unscathed, if you discounted his ghastly white coloration and the two large vampire like bites on his neck. Remus didn't even want to think about what would be damaged after Peter's transformation in place of his tail.

Sirius was rearing for more, "That was fun. Let's do it again."

James took a more philosophical approach. "Do you think the cat started off like that or do you think McGonagall trained it to behave like that?"

Remus turned with his wand out, hoping to retrieve his clothes with an 'Accio' spell. He stopped short at the sight before him.

The form under his robe and cloak was expanding. The shape was no longer that of a cat. A slim hand came became visible and positively wrenched off the garments. It would seem Padfoot, Prongs, and Wormtail were not the only Animagi around. 

Professor McGonagall was smoothing away the wrinkles in her dress as she scanned the grass about her feet for Peter the rat.

Peering over his shoulder, James summed things up best. "Well that certainly puts a different spin on it."


End file.
